°•Quiet Love²•°
°•Chapter 2: What the Silence Holds•°
Zoey stirred from sleep with the slow haze that comes after fever and exhaustion, her limbs still heavy under the blanket, not knowing how long has she been sleeping in. She blinked up at the ceiling, momentarily disoriented by the dimness of the room and the faint scent of something—was that… ginger?
She sat up slightly and winced. Her stomach ached in waves, dull and stubborn. But something was different. The cloth that had been cooling her forehead was now folded neatly on the side table, and the medicine packet had been moved.
Then she heard it.
The soft clink of porcelain.
The sound was coming from the kitchen.
Zoey blinked again, confusion narrowing her brows until it dawned on her—Yunrui was still home.
She glanced at the clock. 9:27 p.m. He’d been home for over an hour. And from the smell wafting into the bedroom, he was making… soup?
Before she could overthink it—before her shyness made her hesitate—she quietly slipped out of bed, dragging her blanket around her shoulders like a shawl. She padded out into the living room.
There he was.
Yunrui stood in the kitchen, back facing her, sleeves rolled up, his broad frame moving carefully between the stove and the counter. A pot simmered gently on the stove, and he stirred it, testing the taste with a small spoon. Zoey watched as he frowned slightly, reached for a pinch of salt, and added it.
It was the most unexpected image—and the most beautiful.
She bit her lip and stepped forward.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“Yun?” (calls out softly)
Li Yunrui
(He turned, a little startled, he frowned)
“You should be in bed.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I... smelled ginger,” (she said, shyly, her voice quiet.)
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“Is that for me?”
Yunrui's expression softened, and he nodded once.
Li Yunrui
“Ginger and rice soup. It helps with nausea. I looked it up.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(A blush crept to her cheeks.)
“You... looked up more?”
Li Yunrui
(He shrugged, turning back to the stove)
“Had to learn something useful.”
There it was again—that odd, fluttery warmth in her chest. Yunrui didn’t say the sweet things. But he did the sweet things. And this? This was more than words.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(She stepped into the kitchen, watching him)
“Do you need help?”
Li Yunrui
“You should sit.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I want to stand. Just for a bit.” (clutches on the blanket bashfully)
Yunrui didn’t argue, but she noticed the glance he gave her—brief, assessing. Protective.
Yunrui poured the soup into a bowl and gestured toward the couch. She hesitated for a moment, her fingers tightening around the blanket.
Li Yunrui
(Noticing, he asked softly)
“Want me to bring it to the bed instead?”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(She bit her lip)
“No. I like being near you right now.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them, and once they hung in the air, she immediately looked away, her cheeks flushing.
Yunrui paused.
Then he nodded, quietly, and walked with her towards the couch, setting the bowl on the table and adjusting the cushions without a word. Once she was settled, he handed her the soup and sat beside her—closer than usual.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I’m sorry,” (she said softly, spooning a bit of the warm broth.)
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“For not telling you earlier. About the fever. I didn’t want to bother you.”
Li Yunrui
“You’re never a bother,” (he replied without hesitation).
She looked up at him. Feeling a little overwhelmed with the way his care and affection have been giving out how he means what he is saying.
Li Yunrui
“I know I’m not good at saying things,” (he continued)
“But if something’s wrong—if you’re not okay—I want to know. I want to be there.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(Her chest tightened)
“That means a lot.”
Yunrui shifted a little, resting one arm on the back of the couch, his hand just behind her head. She could feel the warmth of his skin through the blanket. And somehow, just that was enough to make her heart skip.
They sat in silence as she ate, but it wasn’t empty. It was the kind of quiet that wrapped around them like a soft sweater.
Halfway through the bowl, Zoey set it down.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I meant what I said last night. I want to be someone you can rely on. Not just the girl you married because our parents wanted it.”
He didn’t answer right away.
Then, after a long pause, he said softly-
Li Yunrui
“You’re not just that.”
She turned to look at him.
He was staring at the floor again, voice low, contemplating his words.
Li Yunrui
“I didn’t know what to expect from this marriage. I’ve never been good at... people. But you made it easy. Even when I didn’t say anything. You kept showing up. Talking. Smiling. Being kind.”
Her throat tightened at this as she looked at him softly with love as he continued to speak.
Li Yunrui
“I thought maybe if I stayed quiet, you’d give up on trying. But you didn’t. And somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like an arrangement.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(She swallowed hard. Her voice was small.)
“What does it feel like now?”
Yunrui looked at her then—really looked—and for the first time, she saw it. The storm of emotions behind those calm eyes. Fear. Hope. Something tender and unfinished.
Li Yunrui
“Like home,” (he said softly.)
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(The blanket slipped off her shoulder, but she barely noticed. Her hands were trembling a little.)
“You really mean that?”
Yunrui nodded.
It wasn’t grand. It wasn’t loud. But for Zoey, it was enough to steal the breath from her lungs. She looked down, hiding the smile growing on her lips.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I don’t know what to do when you say things like that.”
Li Yunrui
“You don’t have to do anything,”
She nodded, still unable to look up. Her fingers reached out—just a little—and brushed his hand. And to her surprise, he took it.
Not tightly. Not dramatically. Just his fingers, folding over hers like it had always been meant to be that way.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I wanted to ask you something,” (she said after a while, still holding on).
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“When did it start for you? The feelings, I mean?” (says shyly looking down at her lap)
Yunrui's lips quirked slightly, barely a smile, but it reached his eyes.
Li Yunrui
“There was this one night,” (he began)
“About a month after the wedding. You were baking cookies and burned the first two batches. You were frustrated, but you still smiled. You scraped off the burnt parts and tried again. And I remember thinking... she doesn’t give up easily.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(She blinked, then laughed.)
“That was such a mess. I was so embarrassed.”
Li Yunrui
“I thought it was the most endearing thing I’d ever seen,” (he admitted, and her cheeks flushed all over again.)
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“Why didn’t you tell me back then?”
(she asked, her voice barely a whisper)
Li Yunrui
“I was scared,” (he said simply, eyes cast down)
Li Yunrui
“Of ruining it. Of not being enough.”
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
(Her thumb gently brushed over his knuckles.)
“You’re more than enough.”
Silence fell again. But this time, it was filled with the kind of quiet that spoke louder than anything else.
Eventually, Yunrui helped her back to bed, placing a heating pad at her side and making sure the room was warm enough. Zoey watched him move with a soft smile. As he turned to leave, she reached for his sleeve.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“Will you stay? Just for a bit?” (asks with her cheeks flushed)
He hesitated only a second. Then, without a word, he slipped under the blanket beside her.
They lay there, not touching at first. Then Zoey, a little shy but brave, rested her head gently against his shoulder.
He didn’t flinch. Instead, he shifted slightly to make her more comfortable.
The light from the bedside lamp cast a warm glow around the room, and Zoey closed her eyes, her hand curled lightly against his chest. She felt him breathe in. Felt his arm slowly wrap around her waist. Felt her entire body relax into his.
And then, in the hush between seconds, she heard him whisper softly.
She froze.
Not because she didn’t want to hear it. But because it had come so softly, so unexpectedly, she wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined it.
She looked up at him, eyes wide.
His gaze met hers, open and vulnerable for the first time.
Li Yunrui
“You don’t have to say it back,” (he said, almost too quickly)
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I love you too,” (she blurted out, cheeks flaming, voice almost panicked)
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“I was waiting. I mean— I didn’t know if you ever would— I thought maybe—”
He kissed her.
It was gentle, hesitant, and a question more than a statement. But it melted every ounce of uncertainty in her.
When he pulled back, her smile was shy and radiant.
Li Ziyi (Zoey)
“Took you long enough.”
Li Yunrui
(His thumb brushed her cheek.)
“You’re worth the wait.” (pecks her lips)
That night, sleep came easily. Tucked into each other’s warmth, words unspoken now resting between them like promises.
And though their love story had begun quietly, in the silence of arrangements and gestures too small to name—what came after was loud in all the right ways.
Author
Ignore the mistakes🫣
The way I am writing this at work is just out of my mind, because it's not allowed to use much phone but you see, I couldn't help it, so yeah, it's not proofread too🥲
Author
ThankYou for reading😄
Comments
𝓽𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓴𝓴𝓲𝓮 🫐
Are you for real, dude?? She might have said it first if you hadn't said it just now /Skull/
2025-06-19
2
𝓽𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓴𝓴𝓲𝓮 🫐
oh pls it's not doing any better to me either, like wae this author-ssi of mine have to describe everything so beautifully /Cry/
2025-06-19
2
shiruu...lish♡♡
Just what multitasks are you even doing there.
😑
2025-06-19
1